Fethullah Gulen

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The Federal Bureau of investigation, the United States conducts arrests of members of the opposition Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen (FETO) in the state of new Jersey, said the Minister of foreign Affairs of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu.

“The FBI is working against FETO in 15 States. New Jersey has already begun the arrests,” – said the Minister, quoted by RIA “Novosti”.

Earlier, Cavusoglu said that the U.S. President Donald trump said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at a meeting at the G20 in Buenos Aires that the issue of extradition of the opposition Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen is studied.

The same information Cavusoglu reiterated on the sidelines taking place in Doha XVIII International forum on December 16. According to him, “the FBI is investigating about how the Gulen organization declined in the US from (payment) of taxes,” reports TASS.

In mid-November, the United States deported to Turkey the head of the Fund of the organization gülen, Salih Gezeira, which it accused of attempted sexual harassment.

The decision on deportation Gezeira became an American court that considered the case. Following this, possible deportation and the Gulen told the American channel NBC, citing senior sources.
Such a step is being prepared to reduce the demands of Turkey in the case of the murder of a Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said the channel.

Only the Turkish authorities demanding the extradition of 452 persons involved in activity of FETO, wrote , “Bulletin of the Caucasus”.

The persecution of the Turkish opposition could “lobby”

Court of the U.S. state of Virginia on Monday indicted the two former partners Michael Flynn, who was an adviser to Donald trump during the election campaign in 2016. They are suspected of illegal lobbying of interests of the incumbent Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the USA, writes The New York Times.

Charges against the ex-partners Ekimu Alptekin Flynn and Bijan Keanu made during the trial in Alexandria. They are accused of violating Federal laws on lobbying, and Alptekin also charged with making false statements to the FBI.

An investigation into possible lobbying Turkish interests in the U.S. began in 2016 after he Flynn wrote for The Hill newspaper an article criticizing Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom the Turkish government is accused of attempted coup d’état in 2016.

According to the investigation, Kian helped Flynn and his company Flynn Intel Group in developing an advocacy project, which was to convince the U.S. Congress to agree to the extradition of Gulen to Turkey.

Alptekin is a Turkish businessman close to President Erdogan and helped to sponsor this project. He faces a 35-year term of imprisonment, and Keanu – 15 years in prison.

The Turkish authorities accuse FETO of involvement in the attempted coup two years ago. July 15, 2016 a group of soldiers and officers of the Turkish armed forces tried to capture President Tayyip Erdogan. The main fighting took place in Istanbul and Ankara. Killed 250 people, not counting the coup, more than 2 thousand were wounded. To date, criminal cases of assistance FETO in Turkey condemned thousands of people.

He 77-year-old leader of the FETO gülen condemned the military coup and rejected the accusations. However, Turkey has been seeking his extradition from the United States. In America, the preacher lives since 1999.

In December 2014, an Istanbul court issued an arrest warrant for Gulen.